


Kettle Storm

by Tarlan



Series: Architects of Fate [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Survivor (1999)
Genre: Community: fanfic100, Community: mcsheplets, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-28
Updated: 2009-12-28
Packaged: 2017-10-11 00:07:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/106068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John should know better than accept offers from strangers without checking out the details first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kettle Storm

"Why can't you just call a spade a spade?" Jack asked testily.

Rodney threw his hands in the air. "Because it isn't! Some things are not as cut and dried as you military types would lead us to believe." Rodney rolled his eyes and sighed heavily when Jack leaned forward on the desk and paraphrased Rodney's words.

"Us...military types."

"Yes. Yes. You seem to think everything can be resolved with a pack of C4 and a P90. Well, I'm sorry to tell you that sometimes brute force isn't the answer."

"He has a point," Daniel stated mildly, earning a glare from Jack.

"So what do you suggest, doctor?" Jack asked politely, barely holding onto his temper but that wasn't Rodney's fault. Perhaps if they'd let Daniel go to the meeting in the first place then Colonel Sheppard wouldn't have given off the wrong vibes and accepted what was tantamount to a marriage proposal for the whole of his team. Perhaps then they wouldn't be in this predicament.

Daniel pushed his glasses firmly up his nose and leaned in. "According to the Belkans, the leader of the Athosians is firm but fair. She and her people trade with a number of other planets and they all had a good word for her, which is why we approached them in the first place. So maybe we should offer her a simple trade for Sheppard and his men instead of going in all guns blazing."

"A trade." Jack asked blandly, wondering what they might possibly offer as a decent trade for a group of good-looking, virile young men who would do wonders for the gene pool of any Pegasus world. They were probably damn lucky the Athosians were nomadic only so far as moving around their own goddamn planet.

"Medicines...and medical assistance." Rodney stated softly. "If they are anything like the rest of the people we've seen in this galaxy then we'd probably be able to smell the tooth decay and disease from the gate."

"Nice, McKay."

"I'm just saying it as it is."

"So a spade is a spade this time."

Rodney rolled his eyes again and Jack wondered what had happened to the mild mannered but socially inept trauma surgeon who could barely say boo to a goose when they first rescued him from the Morpheus I drilling station in the Arctic. Still, when they had saved him from a creature that had seeded the human race solely as future entrée on its dinner table, Jack hadn't expected to get to know and like the guy so much--enough to bring him to Atlantis as their Chief Medical Officer along with the helicopter pilot who had helped saved the planet before the dinner gong was sounded.

He could also understand Rodney's frustration because Sheppard was not just a soldier, he was also Jack's friend and Rodney's lover. Jack knew exactly how it felt to have his lover abducted. He'd been lucky and had managed to get Daniel back from a Goa'uld System Lord unharmed. Now he wanted to be equally lucky and get John back unharmed--and with his virtue intact, if at all possible. Though with the sex noises he'd overheard in the Antarctic Outpost one night, he doubted either of his friends had any virtue left. In many ways it was lucky the SGC military had to go through quite stringent psychological tests to weed out anyone with major prejudices against other cultures and lifestyles, or Sheppard might have ended up facing a court martial.

The same-sex regulations had been thrown out the moment they stepped into Atlantis several weeks back though, perhaps more fortunately, the rooms here had better sound-proofing for there were some things Jack really didn't need to know about his friends. The fact that Rodney like 'more, more and harder' was one of those things.

"So let me get this straight. The Athosians have taken four of our men hostage and you want to pay a ransom to get them back unharmed." Jack looked hard at Daniel and Rodney. He didn't negotiate with hostage-takers.

"Technically...they haven't made any demands."

"No! Because why would they want to let go of four new contributors to the gene pool!"

"At least let me try, Jack."

"What? You want to go in there so they can add another hostage--"

"Unscheduled off-world activation!"

They filed out of Jack's office quickly and Jack could see Rodney ordering a medical team on standby.

"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC!"

"Lower the shield," Jack ordered and was pleased that he didn't have to tell the sentries to keep on guard. They were good soldiers--some of the best that Earth had to offer. The wormhole rippled and Jack tensed as Stackhouse, Bates and Ford stepped through, sighing in relief when Sheppard followed a few steps behind with a single guest.

Jack took the stairs quickly as the Stargate shut down behind them, followed by Rodney and Daniel. "Sheppard, didn't your mother ever warn you about accepting treats from strangers? Do I have to fire you?"

Sheppard had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "Only if you have a liking for large bore needles, sir."

Jack noticed a tiny smile curl the lips of the beautiful woman standing beside John even though she probably wouldn't have understood the lightly-made threat that was a standing joke between them. She had found it amusing at least and that put Jack a little more at ease.

"Sir. May I introduce Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Tagan, and leader of the Athosian people." He turned slightly. "Teyla, this is General Jack O'Neill, leader of our people. Dr. Daniel Jackson... and Dr. Rodney McKay, our Chief of Medicine."

Her interest piqued when she was introduced to Rodney, and she appraised him carefully though Jack had a feeling it was not because of Rodney's medical degrees. John must have mentioned that he already had a partner back home as a means of wheedling out of the situation he'd found himself in and Jack could tell that Teyla was interested to see if it was a lie or the truth. She seemed satisfied enough by the way Rodney's eyes kept returning to John, all wide and blue and filled with relief. Once again Jack was glad he'd gotten rid of DADT because those two couldn't keep their relationship a secret to save their lives. Or at least, Rodney couldn't. His love and adoration for John shone from his often too expressive eyes.

Teyla inclined her head a fraction. "Colonel Sheppard and I may have started with a small misunderstanding but I hope that will not affect the possibility of future trade with your people, General Jack O'Neill."

"Jack. I hate long titles."

Her smile was wider and warmer. "And I am Teyla."

"Good." He clapped his hands together, rubbing them, and smiled. "Daniel? Maybe you could rustle up some...tea for our guest. No strings attached," he added just in case this was how John fell foul of some Athosian custom.

Teyla inclined her head again and smiled even wider.

"Sheppard? Why don't you and Dr. McKay join us as soon as you and your team have been checked out?"

"Sir."

Jack closed his eyes and smiled tightly as they weren't even out of earshot before Rodney started to lay into his lover but, once again, Teyla seemed to find it amusing. As he led her up the grand staircase towards the office he had taken overlooking the Stargate, Jack had a feeling that he wouldn't see John or Rodney for at least twenty minutes. Enough time for a quickie you're alive, safe and home fumble while Carson dealt with the rest of John's team. But having been in that same position too many times to count, Jack couldn't begrudge them a single minute to hold on tight. Instead he smiled warmly at Teyla Emmagan, and with Daniel by his side, he poured out a thick and hot Abydos tea to fortify them for the day ahead, already convinced that this was one alliance that would stand them in good stead in the years ahead.

***

Hours later:

"She's hot."

"Hmm?" John stretched out luxuriously, loving the way the shift had Rodney's skin rubbing against his as they moved together. He arched up to feel more of Rodney hard against him, pressing in deep as John hooked his ankles behind Rodney's back.

"That Athosian woman? She's hot."

John tensed and blinked, going still beneath Rodney. "You've got your cock buried in my ass and you're talking about some hot--" He subsided at the look on Rodney's face and groaned. "You pick the worst times to get insecure. Yeah, she's hot, but you... You are hotter."

"Really?"

John arched again, drawing Rodney deeper inside. "Yeah," he breathed. "Oh yeah." He dragged Rodney down for the dirtiest kiss, swallowing Rodney's moan as they rocked together again--the friction drawing them both higher, closer to the edge until John was seeing stars exploding behind his closed eyes. As they relaxed boneless against each other, slick with sweat and spilled semen, John peppered Rodney's neck and throat and temple with soft kisses.

"No one else does it for me. No one but you," he whispered and smiled as Rodney relaxed against him.

He was lucky today, and not just for the amazing sex with his lover. He'd made a stupid mistake on Athos, and the next time someone offered to put the kettle on the evening fire, he was going to think very carefully about his response. Yet how many more cross-lines and mixed signals lay ahead of them? Still, he had a good feeling about Teyla Emmagan, that they could become great friends over time. Perhaps he could ask her people to help them prepare better for first contacts for even though he'd felt in no real danger on Athos, the thought of never having Rodney in his arms, and in his bed again was too terrifying for words.

Yeah. If Daniel hadn't already thought of it--highly unlikely--then tomorrow John would mention it to Jack and Daniel. But for now he reached for the washcloth to clean them both up a little before wrapping himself around his lover and letting the thump of their beating hearts lull him to sleep.

END

-

**Author's Note:**

> Written for McSheplets Prompt #54 Mixed Signals, fanfic100 Prompt #50 Spade and hewligan_100 Prompt #25. Strangers


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